Two Halves Make a Whole
by mirrorsound
Summary: Len lives on Earth. He talks human, looks human, even acts human- but he's not. He was cast away from his own planet years ago, and now he and the other outcasts live silently among humanity. What happens when an alien girl appears, bringing news of destruction? Can Len overcome his brutal past and save Earth, or will he let his only refuge be destroyed? Based on Astral Domination
1. Chapter 1

-**Len Kagamine-**

When you look into the night sky, what do you see? Do you gaze up at a thousand twinkling crystals, glowing brightly in the pitch-black sky? Do you see a comforting blanket of the universe wrapping around the earth over your head? Or are you one of those imaginative humans that society marks as whack-jobs, always seeing alien spaceships zooming toward earth and claiming that you've been abducted?

I guess I would be classified as the latter. The only difference is that I pride myself to be 100% sane.

* * *

Lying awake in the sweltering Nevada summer heat, I tried not to make any noise as I reached out of my sleeping bag for my watch to check what time it was; I didn't want to wake up any of my comrades. I cupped my hand over the plastic screen as I pressed the button that illuminated the numbers. 5:00 AM. I had hoped it would be later.

I quietly slid myself out of the fabric that sandwiched me, and stepped over my friends' feet as they slept soundlessly sprawled around the room. I left the room and headed toward the kitchen, carefully keeping my steps light to avoid any creaking floorboards that belonged to the dilapidated ranch house we lived in.

I wasn't able to get any sleep all night. I had an uneasy feeling that something was about to happen, something big. I just had no idea what it was...

I settled myself down at the kitchen table, and switched on the radio I always kept on a single station. Turning the volume low so that I could only hear it by pressing it against my ear, I listened.

The current talk show conversation was speculating the theory that the president of the United States was an alien from Mars. I probably would have found that rather amusing, if I wasn't so distracted. The conversation remained uneventful for another thirty minutes, until a new story being discussed made me jump.

"A new UFO sighting has been made near Groom Lake, Nevada!" the show host announced. "We have a guest speaker reporting it live," the host switched the line so that we could hear the man on the other line tell his story. The man sounded breathless and excited, telling his experience in a strange slur of words that was unintelligible. He sounded just as delusional as all the other humans that contributed to this station.

…but still, it was worth checking out. I had nothing better to do at half past five in the morning, anyway.

I found my way to the laundry room and pulled on a black pair of pants and T-shirt. Then I located a flashlight and stepped out the door and into the black of night, dawn still being a whole hour away. I eased the door shut behind me and walked away from the house, only to find someone creaking it open again behind me. I whirled around to see a boy with tousled blond hair, dressed in a black outfit identical to mine. His one golden eye peered up at me, his other blind eye hidden behind the bandages he kept wrapped around his head.

"Oliver, get back to sleep," I told him softly. With his wide-eyed expression and young face, it was hard to yell at him.

"But, Len, I was wondering if I could come with you this time…"

"No!" I hissed. "I'll be back soon, don't worry."

"Oh." He responded, looking disappointed. "I just want to know what your sighting missions are like, that's all."

I waited for him to go back inside, but he stayed there on the doorstep, making no move to do so. His eye looked at me pleadingly. I finally looked away.

"Alright, you can come. But only this once."

His single eye lit up. "Thanks Len!"

I sighed. "Just do what I say, okay? The last time Miku came with me, she almost got us shot."

"Don't worry, I'll be quiet."

I turned around and headed away from the abandoned ranch where we had made our home and headed into the Mojave Desert. Oliver stayed close on my heels, saying nothing.

At twelve years old, Oliver was two years younger than me. I had taken him in a couple months after I had found Miku, making him the third most senior out of the eleven of us that lived together. I was the first one to be sent here, which was why everybody looked to me as the leader of the household.

As Oliver and I trudged through the desert, he didn't say much, which was usual for him. He was extremely shy and didn't talk to people much besides me and Miku. Even around us he was still pretty quiet, but I didn't mind. Especially when we were sneaking around places we shouldn't be.

In about twenty minutes we arrived at our destination. "We're here," I alerted Oliver.

He just stared at the metal gates looming before him. "I thought it would be… grander. I mean, Area 51 is famous all over the United States for alien conspiracy theories, right?"

"Yep. Most UFO sightings are just made up by a bunch of lunatics and drunkards, though. We probably won't find a refugee tonight, so don't get your hopes up," I nudged him in the shoulder. "Come on, now we have to be quiet. It'll be easy to sneak in unnoticed as long as you stick close to me."

He gave me a slight nod and we headed toward the gate, crouching down so the guards on duty wouldn't see us. "Be careful where you step," I whispered. "There are motion sensors installed into the ground. I was able to deactivate some without getting noticed, but most of them are still activated."

We climbed over the fence, avoiding the barbed wire at the top, and dropped silently to the ground. I led Oliver through the maze of airstrip runways and graveyards of old aircraft, pulling him into hiding spots once in a while to avoid the guards. Soon we came across the old, unkempt airstrip that was at the heart of the military base.

I held out my arm in motion for Oliver to stop, and looked around, trying to see any sign of a refugee. This was where they always dropped them off. I walked further up the airstrip, shining the flashlight around and looking around for anything suspicious. When I didn't find anything I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. _There's nothing. Another false alarm. _

I turned around to tell Oliver that it was time to leave, only to find him waving maniacally in a different direction, trying to get my attention. There was a strange purple light glowing in the direction he was pointing, a small distance away from the cracked pavement. _Strange… no one has ever glowed before…_

I joined back up with him and we advanced toward the unusual violet aura. When we were standing a couple steps away, I risked a flashlight beam in its direction, and gasped.

_What...? _I instantly dropped the flashlight and took a couple steps back. My blood ran cold. Oliver glanced at me with a worried expression. He, like everyone back home, knew my biggest fear, even if they tried to deny it.

"Len, why isn't she in human form?" he whispered.

I fought back the urge to run away, to go anywhere but here- but swallowed back my panic. I'd be strong, if only for Oliver's sake. "I… I don't know." I scooped my flashlight back up and shined it back at the unconscious glowing girl, trying to keep my nerves under control. It wasn't working too well.

She had unnaturally pale skin, a complexion that humans couldn't achieve, no matter how much makeup they used. Her shoulder length hair had no texture, not like how humans' hair looked. It was like black empty space had enveloped her hair, something that seems more eerie in real life than it does in description. And her outfit- a black tank top and pink shorts with ribbons ballooning out at her sides- was woven out of material that wasn't found on earth. If you looked close enough, you could see that the threads that were woven together reflected all colors on the spectrum, not just the color they appeared to be at a distance. But the most notable feature was the translucent wing sprouting from her back. She was lying on her side, her back to me. I would've turned her over to look at her face, but I didn't dare touch her.

She was an alien; that much was obvious. What I didn't understand was, why wasn't she disguised as a human like everyone else who landed here? Once an alien touched the Earth's atmosphere for the first time, they transformed into a second form. One that appeared human.

I also didn't understand why she looked so familiar.

"We should carry her home," I murmured, kneeling down to pick her up. For some reason I couldn't stop shaking.

Oliver, who could sense my distress, jumped in. "No, I'll carry her. She's pretty small, I can lift her."

Relieved, I stepped back, suddenly glad I let Oliver tag along. He knelt down and slid his arms under her knees and shoulders, picking her up. Now that her face was turned towards me, I shone the light to look at her.

"No," I breathed. "No!" _Her. Not her. Anybody but her!_

The panic erupted in me again, this time with so much intensity I couldn't control it. I dropped my flashlight and fled, forgetting entirely about Oliver.

"Len! Wait!" he called after me, trying desperately to keep up.

The next thing I knew I was running in a beeline towards the gate at the edge of the base, taking a route I never used before. Oliver was nowhere in sight. I tipped off a bunch of motion sensors, and I vaguely heard the wailing of an alarm. I ignored it.

Suddenly an arm reached out from behind me and wrapped around my midsection. "Whoa, you're not going anywhere," a guard said behind me. A second guard appeared in my line of vision, and I stopped struggling.

"Huh. It's just a kid," the second guard said.

"Probably one of those stupid tourists trying to get pictures of the place," the first guard mumbled. I chose to say nothing.

"Well, I guess we should bring him to the security office," the second guard told the first.

"Wait, I thought we were supposed to bring intruders to the general," the first guard responded. Soon they were in a full-fledged argument about what they should do with me.

I felt my captor's arm loosen its grip on me, exactly what I hoped would happen if I didn't struggle. I twisted away violently from the guard, and he was taken by surprise. Free of the first guard's grip, I dodged the second's lunge at me and closed the distance between me and the fence.

I leapt onto the metal frame and climbed faster than I knew I could, adrenaline coursing through my veins. One of the guards grabbed at my ankle, but I kicked him back in the face with all the strength I could muster. I reached the top of the gate and jumped off to the other side, ignoring the bleeding gash on my leg where the barbed wire sliced my skin. I hit the ground running.

The first guard drew his pistol and pointed it at me, but the second guard stopped him. "He's just a kid, let him go. I don't want to end up paying for his hospital bills."

I kept running even when Area 51 was out of sight. I didn't stop until the sun peeked over the horizon, marking sunrise.

I sat down on a flat boulder and hugged my knees close to my chest so I could rest my chin on them. I tried to quench the flurry of thoughts running through my mind, with no avail.

_I hope Oliver's okay, I didn't mean to ditch him like that. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to him. Why did I ditch him anyway? Oh, right, that girl…_

I tried to push her from my mind, but the memory kept flooding back, reopening wounds that I thought were long healed.

_I've never seen that girl before. Ever. She has nothing to do with my life. I don't know her name. I don't know her at all. She's an alien. I'm a human. My home is Earth. I am a human. _

_But I'm not._

I bit back a scream. "_I'm human! A human!" _I yelled at the barren desert landscape, as if saying it out loud would make it true. Deep down, I knew that everything I've been telling myself ever since I came here four years ago was a lie.

I. Didn't. Care.

_I definitely don't know her._

_She definitely isn't the one who betrayed me and ruined my life._

_She definitely isn't my twin sister._

_I definitely am not an alien._

* * *

***Note: For those of you that have never heard of Area 51, It's pretty much just famous in the United States for alien sightings and conspiracy theories. It's an old military base in the middle of the desert in Nevada. **_  
_

**Does the desert in Nevada actually have sand, or is it just dry ground? I don't know because I live nowhere near there...**

**Anyway, the setting is obviously the USA. I'll probably make them go to Japan later, though. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

***Rin Kagamine***

_Where am I?_

I drowsily lifted my eyes open a crack to see the world blurring past me in a bobbing motion.

_Huh?_

My mind finally cleared and I remembered where I was; Earth. But with my clearer conscience also came the realization that someone was carrying me in their arms.

I quickly shut my eyes again, and the person didn't seem to notice. I waited until the person stopped to catch their breath before I made my move. While my captor was inhaling huge gulps of air, I suddenly twisted around and pushed the person in the chest with as much force I could.

"Ah!"

I felt myself being dropped onto the ground, butt first. "Ouch," I muttered. I observed my surroundings, trying to find some easy way of escape.

I was in the middle of nowhere. Hot sand sifted beneath my feet and dry brush was scattered everywhere along with the occasional cactus. The sky was dim, but the sun was peeking over the horizon, indicating that it wouldn't stay dark for very long. I considered escaping, but ruled that out as an option. I had no idea where to go.

I turned my attention to the human boy standing before me. He had shaggy blond hair and a golden-colored eye. Strangely enough, his other eye was covered by a gauze bandage that was wrapped around his head. He was clad in shorts and a simple T-shirt, which would have looked normal if it wasn't all black. He also had an old-fashioned blue sailor cap resting on his head.

He was kinda cute. I felt my wing twitch.

Wait. My wing? Crap, I forgot to change to human form before I landed. He was probably carrying me to an alien-prison.

Did those even exist on Earth? If one didn't, someone should create it. It would be useful to quarantine all the poor extraterrestrials that dropped out of the sky (like me.)

He stood before me, opening and closing his mouth like he was deciding whether to say anything to me or not. Finally he seemed to find his voice. "S-sorry about that. I didn't mean to drop you, you just startled me." He had a soft voice that was unusually high-pitched for a boy. He reached out his hand to help me up, and I took it.

"It's all right. I'm sorry I pushed you," I apologized.

We stood there, staring at each other for a long, awkward moment. He looked like he wanted to tell me something, but didn't know how. He probably wanted to point out that I had a wing.

Trying to figure out what I should do, I silently ran through all the options that came to mind. I could strike up a conversation with him, and try to figure out where I was. I could give him a punch or two and escape easily. I could throw up my hands and say 'I come in peace' like aliens always did in those stupid earthling movies.

I considered all my options, and finally decided that it would be best if this human didn't remember seeing me at all.

I flexed my fingers and a glowing purple aura steamed off of them.

"Sorry, but I have to do this," I told him. "Such a shame, though. You're pretty cute." I grabbed his shoulder with one hand, and pressed the glowing fingertips of my other hand against his forehead. He looked at startled, and tried to back away, but I gripped him firmly in place. He blinked.

Nothing was happening. Why wasn't anything happening?

"I hate to break it to you, but your brainwashing techniques won't work on me."

Bewildered, I took a step back, removing my hands from his forehead and shoulder. "What…?"

The boy flashed me a small smile, then started to transform. A blinding blue light replaced his figure, glowing brighter and brighter until I had to look away. When it subsided, a boy that looked exactly like him, except for white skin and black hair, was left in his place. Two translucent blue wings unfolded behind him. He was like me.

"Oh… I guess that would be why," I finally mumbled, after regaining my loss for words.

"You're not the only one from another planet," he responded. "My name's Oliver."

"Nice to meet you, Oliver! I'm Rin."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"So, Oliver, would you mind telling me why you were carrying me in the first place?" I inquired.

He looked at his feet. "When we found you, you were unconscious, so we thought it would be best if we took you home…"

"Wait, what do you mean 'we'?" I asked.

"Oh. Me and my friend found you at a military base near here- it's where all the refugees land- and we couldn't exactly leave you there." He hesitated. "He ran away when he saw you. He's, um, kind of sensitive when it comes to aliens. I tried looking for him, but I couldn't find him." A worried expression crossed his face.

"So your friend is a human?"

"...no." _Huh, strange._

"So, where's this 'home', anyway? Is it close? It looks like we're in the middle of nowhere."

"It's about fifteen more minutes away," he answered. "And yes, we're sort of in the middle of nowhere. We, um, should probably start walking."

He led the way, and I followed in his footsteps. "So, are there more people like us here?"

"Yeah, there are eleven of us total back home."

We trudged on through the desert, and I took note of the direction he was leading me. This could be some type of trap, but I doubted it. Besides, I was confident I could take on this kid in a fight if it came down to it. He could barely walk a few steps without panting heavily.

"Your breathing is irregular," I noted. "Do you have asthma?"

"…no. It's a heart condition."

"Is that why you were sent here? Or was it because of your eye?"

He reached up at his eye self-consciously, and judging by his expression, it was a sensitive subject for him.

"I mean, I wasn't trying to offend you or anything. I didn't mean to sound so rude, I'm sorry," I apologized, regretting that I had said anything. "Just forget I asked, okay?"

He nodded and lowered his arm, saying nothing. We continued on in silence for a couple minutes, and I was worried that I had hurt the poor boy's feelings. Finally he spoke up, "So, why were you sent here?"

"Oh, um, I wasn't really sent here. It was more of a choice. " I hoped he wouldn't ask me to elaborate.

He turned and looked at me strangely. "Why would you want to come here? How did you even find out about this place if you're not an outcast?"

"I'm, uh, looking for somebody." I looked away. "I haven't seen him in a couple years, and I miss him." It was the truth, but not the whole truth. I didn't want to tell Oliver the entire reason I was here until I found my brother.

"Oh." Maybe it was just me, but he looked a little disappointed.

We spent the rest of the walk in uncomfortable silence. When we finally got close enough to our destination to see a one-story decrepit house on the horizon, which looked like an oasis compared to the entire desert surrounding us, the sun was already in the sky.

Oliver knocked on the door, which was scraped of most of its paint and looked like it was falling off its hinges, and a girl flung open the door, her long teal pigtails swaying wildly behind her. "You're back!" she exclaimed. Her gaze fell on me. "And you have a new refugee!" she squealed excitedly. "What's your name?"

"Rin."

"I'm Miku!"

She grabbed my wrist and tugged me inside, and I found myself in some kind of makeshift kitchen. The house was just as worn-down on the inside as it looked on the outside. The floorboards were decayed and the wallpaper was faded. All the items of furniture in sight had strips of duct tape holding them together.

"Hey guys! They brought back another newbie!" she yelled through the old house. I was afraid the loud volume would cause the foundation to collapse on top of us.

The room flooded with people.

"I want to play with her first!" A young girl with brown hair and pigtails tugged at my arm.

"This one's cute," a teenage girl in a miniskirt said, brushing back her short brown hair with her hand. "We'll have to keep her away from Kaito."

A blue haired boy shoved her back. "Ignore her."

"Stop it you two, you're being rude," another girl chided. She had long red hair with a strand that curled in a crescent shape on the top of her head.

"Miki has a point. Meiko's right, though. She is pretty cute." A boy about my age flashed me a smile with teeth that were just as white as his shoulder-length hair. He tried to wrap an arm around my shoulders, but a girl with wavy blond hair and a cat ear headband dragged him away. I made a note to myself to thank her later.

"Piko, no flirting with newbies! It makes them uncomfortable!" she glared disapprovingly at him.

"But, SeeU, I'm just trying to make her feel welcome!" he protested.

In the midst of all this, a preschool boy with green hair and buckteeth settled down with his blanket and fell asleep beneath me, apparently deeming my foot worthy for a pillow.

I'm sure that, by then, my eyes were as wide as tennis balls.

Miku cleared her throat. "Everybody, this is Rin. Luka, why don't you find her some normal clothes to wear?"

An older girl stepped forward, her long pink hair sweeping over her shoulder. She seemed calmer than the rest. "Welcome, Rin. I think you might fit in Miku's clothes. You can wear those until we buy you some." She pressed a hand against my back and guided me away from the crowd of rowdy teens, who were fighting each other over who should give me a tour. They were coming dangerously close to trampling the sleeping boy on the floor.

All in all, it was a pretty low-key household.

The girl- Luka- guided me to a room that was sprawled with sleeping bags. "This is the bedroom. You'll be sleeping here once we find you sleeping bag. For now you'll sleep on the guest bed in that room," she said pointing toward a closed door, and then made her way to the multiple chests of drawers that lined the wall. She pulled open one drawer and tossed me a sky blue skirt and white blouse.

"These should fit you. You can change in the bathroom over here," she guided me to another doorway. "You, uh, might want to change into human form while you're at it. Some people around here are sort of sensitive towards their natural form. Oh, and when you're done, meet me in the kitchen. I'll cook you some breakfast."

"Okay. Thank you, Luka."

She smiled at me. "Don't mention it."

I locked the bathroom door behind me and changed quickly. Then I turned to face the single cracked mirror above the sink and closed my eyes. I concentrated on looking human like the instructor back at the ship had told me. I felt myself morphing, my skin stretching and tightening, with waves of pulsing heat rolling off my body. When the sensation subsided, I opened my eyes to find a girl with shoulder length blond hair and icy blue eyes staring back at me in the mirror.

I walked out of the bathroom and placed my original clothes in an empty drawer, then found my way back to the kitchen.

I could feel the uneasiness right when I walked in. Everybody was silent, staring open mouthed at Miku and Oliver in the center of the room. Tension hung in the air.

"What do you mean, you don't know where he is?!" Miku growled.

"I- I don't know! He just ran! I looked everywhere but I couldn't find him!" Oliver said, sounding desperate. I noticed that he was back in human form.

"Well you should have looked harder!" Miku spat. It was alarming to see the girl that greeted me so cheerfully have so much anger burning in her eyes.

"I swear, I circled around five times but he was nowhere in sight!" Oliver said nervously. "You know how he acts around people in alien form…"

"Why did you have to go with him anyway? This is _all your fault_!" Miku lunged at Oliver, looking like she would strangle him.

Suddenly the frozen spectators thawed out, and everyone grabbed at Miku to restrain her.

"Whoa, Miku, settle down!" the blue haired guy- Kaito- said.

"Yeah, your little sweetheart will probably be back soon," Meiko mumbled.

Miku snapped her attention to Meiko, her anger at Oliver redirected to her. "He is _not_ my sweetheart!"

Piko snorted. "Right. None of us are blind. But he still is."

Miku wrenched an arm free and slapped him in the face. "Just let me go."

"Only if you promise not to kill Oliver" Luka said evenly.

"Fine!" The others released her, and she stomped out of the room fuming.

Once she was out of sight, I spoke up. "What was that about?"

Luka turned to me. "Well… Miku has a bit of a crush."

"Oh."

"Why don't you eat?" Luka changed the subject. "I made you an omelet." I didn't know what that was, but she handed me a plate with a flat white and yellow disk on it. I guessed I was supposed to eat it.

"Thank you." I sat down at the tattered table and ate as fast as I could without choking.

"So, Rin. I could show you around if you would like," Piko said, flashing me another suave smile. I wasn't sure whether to be flattered or creeped out.

"No, I wanna give her the tour!" Miki protested.

"Oh, please. You two are too young to give her any decent information," Meiko said, rolling her eyes. "Let me do it."

"Are you sure? I could do it, if you want to," Luka offered.

Soon they were back at the argument they had started when I first left. Only two people in the room weren't fighting. One was that sleeping boy, who had now pulled himself to safety inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink, and was snoring peacefully. The other was Oliver, who was standing in the back of the room, staring silently at his feet. I figured he felt bad about Miku yelling at him.

"Why don't we let Rin decide?" Kaito suggested. Everyone nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"Do I have too?" I asked wearily.

"Yes!" they said in unison.

I sighed. "Alright." I scanned the crowd of eight people. "Um… I choose… Oliver. He's the only one not fighting."

"Aww, but I wanted to show you my doll collection," the little girl in pigtails said, grabbing onto my arm.

I ruffled her hair. "Maybe later."

"Why did you choose Oliver? He's too quiet to give a tour," Piko said, trying to convince me that I had made a bad choice.

Miki whacked him in the head. "Ignore him. He just wants you to himself."

Piko's cheeks turned red. "Shut up."

Soon everyone dispersed, going about their daily life, and Oliver and I were left alone. It looked like he was trying to suppress a smile, but he was also rubbing his arm nervously with one hand.

I broke the silence first. "So… I guess you're supposed to give me a tour."

"Yeah."

"What is there to tour, exactly?" I asked. "This house is pretty small."

"I'm supposed to take you into town and show you around. I'm also supposed to look after you for a couple weeks, you know, to help you adjust to the new planet and all," Oliver answered.

"Oh, really? It's a good thing I chose you then. I don't think I would survive being around Piko for so long." He smiled at that. "So, are we going into town?" I asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." He walked out the door into the hot sunlight, and I followed.

"So, who are you looking for here, exactly?" he turned to me, the smile gone from his face.

"Um, well…"

As if on cue, a short boy with blond hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes walked around the house into our field of vision.

"LEN!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! I wrote 3/4 of this chapter about three months ago, but I never got around to finishing it until now! I guess I have no excuse except a ton of schoolwork my extreme procrastination habits. In fact, I'm supposed to be doing my homework right now... hehe.**

**I promise to update sooner. Christmas break is in a couple weeks, so that'll give me lots of free time. :)**

**Thanks to everybody who followed, faved, or reviewed! I'm so sorry you had to wait 4 months... **

* * *

**-Len Kagamine-**

"LEN!"

Something hurled at me, the force nearly knocking me over. It felt like I was hit by an oncoming freight train at full speed.

I looked down and realized it wasn't some_thing_, but some_one_. Great. I'd hoped she was still left in that field to rot. Or worse, captured by humans and experimented on like some caged lab rat. Then _she_ would understand how it felt to be manipulated.

Rin threw her arms around my shoulders, hugging me like she did when we were young. "Len! I missed you so much!" Disgusted, I pushed her away roughly, and she gave me a startled look.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here!?" I glared accusingly, meeting her gaze until she looked away. She backed away from me, looking hurt.

"Len, I have something important to warn you about..." she said in a volume that was hardly above a whisper, intimidated by my angry tone.

"Well, save it. And go back to planet Yamaha, where you came from. You're not welcome here." I told her, a steely edge in my voice.

"But… I'm you're sister, your _family_, remember?" She asked in a demanding tone.

I clenched my fists and turned away. "No, you're not. Not after what you did to me."

"…What did I do?"

That struck a chord with me. Of course she knew what she did. Playing dumb wasn't helping her out. I whirled toward her and glared at her with so much hatred she stepped back, a look of guilt briefly crossing her face.

"I'm sorry Len; I swear I didn't mean to, it wasn't my fault…" She rushed the words out and looked at me pleadingly.

That look just made me sick to my stomach. "Oh, so it wasn't your fault you chose not to stand up for your brother?! It wasn't your fault that you abandoned me when I needed you the most, just to save your own butt?! It wasn't your fault that you applied to be the head of the Yamaha Patrol Force, even though you knew very well that they would perform extensive background checks on _everyone_ in your family?!" I stepped forward, and the fiery rage burning inside me propelled me forward. Rin tried to stand her ground, and I stopped barely a finger's breadth away from her. "Even though you knew that one person in your family wouldn't be able to pass that inspection. The only one that was capable of actually caring about you." I hissed the last part out, restraining myself from calling her some nasty insults that were popping up in my mind.

"L-len…"

I looked over towards the new voice and noticed for the first time that Oliver was standing next to us. He was looking from Rin to me, his eye wide with shock.

"Oliver, stay out of this!" I told him gruffly and turned back toward Rin, intentionally ignoring him.

Rin looked up at me. "Len, I swear, I didn't know they'd catch you! I thought-"

I cut her off. "No, of course you didn't think they'd catch me. You just were thinking of yourself. You just wanted power. You wanted to save your own butt, you didn't even bother thinking about what that would mean for _me_. They were going to kill me, Rin! And you didn't even try to help, even though it was your own fault!" I said bitterly. "Rin, you're just a selfish brat."

She looked at her feet, ashamed. She seemed like she was close to tears, which almost made me feel bad about being so harsh on her.

_Almost. _

She deserved it.

"Len, I swear, I've changed. I was foolish back then, it was a mistake on my part. If there was one day I could go back in time and change, it would be that one. I'm so, so sorry for what I did. Please, forgive me," she pleaded, a desperate look glinting in her eyes.

"The damage is already done. No matter what, you'll never be able to fix it. I'll _never_ forgive you for what you did! I'll never trust you _ever again!_" I yelled, extremely aggravated that she had the nerve to come here or even talk to me after all she's done.

Words meant nothing to me. I was still here. On this planet. Because of _her_.

Unless she could change that, I'd never forgive her. But she couldn't change that. Even aliens couldn't go back in time.

I turned on my heels before she made any more pathetic attempts to defend herself, and stormed into the house. I yanked the door open, and it slammed shut noisily behind me.

Miku, hearing the ruckus I was making, burst into the kitchen. "Len!" She greeted in her signature cheerful tone. Her smile quickly dissolved. "You're bleeding! What happened?"

Oh, right. I completely forgot about the gash on my leg. "Never mind that," I muttered, walking past her.

"Hey! Where are you going?" She asked incredulously.

I ignored her. Maybe it was rude, but I really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. I just wanted to stop the confusing thoughts swirling in my brain. I just wanted to hide the memories that were threatening to return, lock them back somewhere where they'd be destroyed.

A feeling of nausea washed over me.

"Len, are you alright?" Miku asked softly. She could tell I was upset.

"No."

The kitchen door opened once again, the rusted door hinge creaking. The sound echoed painfully in my head.

Rin stepped into the house, the simple action reigniting my anger. "Len, just listen to me! I need to talk to you about something…"

"Get. Out. Now. I told you that you weren't welcome here!" I hissed.

Miku shot me a surprised glance. "Len?"

Rin rested her hands on her hips, the stubbornness that I had known so well when we were younger finally showing through. "No. I'm staying right here."

That does it. I'd reached the end of my patience with her. I stepped forward menacingly…

…Only to double over in pain. A wave of nausea more intense than before washed over me, stabbing through my body. I let out a gasp.

"Len?!" The two girls exclaimed in unison.

Miku ran to me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Len? What's wrong?" she whispered, concerned.

"No…noth…nothing…" I managed to choke out through my grinded teeth.

The world was spinning around me, the ground slipping out under me feet. A vaguely heard the voices of Rin, Miku, and Oliver around me, but they blurred together until it was impossible to make out what they were saying. Hands grabbed at me, trying to hold me up. My vision was fading, and I fought to keep consciousness…

A blanket of darkness surrounded me, and I slumped off into oblivion.

_Thump. Thump._

_What was that sound?_

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

_I lifted my head groggily, blinking the sleep out of my eyes._

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

_In my weary state I tried to pinpoint where that annoying noise was coming from. I finally realized that someone was knocking on the door to the tiny apartment I lived in. _

_Who could be calling for me at this time of day? It was the middle of the night._

_I rolled over in my sheets, pulling the comfortable covers over my ears. "Rin, I nominate you to get the door," I mumbled._

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

_No answer. Annoyed, I pushed myself up to a sitting position and glanced at the bed that was positioned at the opposite side of the room. It was empty._

_Oh, right. Rin said she had to stay at work late today because she was being promoted, whatever that meant. Maybe it was Rin knocking on the door? No, it probably wasn't. Rin never forgot her keys, and she couldn't pound as hard on the door as this person was. She was extremely agile, but had about zero strength._

_I sighed and hopped out of bed. I hoped whoever this was wouldn't mind if I greeted them in my pajamas._

_I walked through the messy apartment with bare feet, jumping to avoid the growing stacks of paper that cluttered the floor. Rin and I were both too busy with our jobs (and too lazy) to clean up._

_I finally reached the door and grasped the cold doorknob, swinging the door open in the middle of another fervent round of banging. Geez, whoever this was, they sure were pesky._

"_Hello?" I asked, expecting the apartment manager, or someone of similar qualities, to reply back._

_Instead I was facing a broad chest that wore a heavily decorated uniform, and I looked up at the burly man looming over me. My blood ran cold as I saw a familiar looking badge pinned to the man's uniform; I read the inscription underneath._

_**Yamaha Patrol Force**_

_I backed away reflexively, trying to hide the fear I felt, the fear I wasn't supposed to feel._

_I had to remind myself that they hadn't found out about me. It was probably just someone sent from headquarters to tell me that Rin would be staying the night. Rin had a job there, after all; it wasn't the first time something like this happened. Relax, Len._

_But still… this man looked pretty authoritative for just a simple messenger. "Is Len Kagamine here?" the man asked in a monotonous tone._

_I gulped, trying to moisten my dry throat. "Yes, that's me." I tried to resist the trembling that surged through my body._

_I noticed two more officers step into view behind the first one. My heart sank._

"_Len Kagamine, you're under arrest for suspected abnormalcy and being a threat to our society," the officer said, whipping out handcuffs robotically._

_How did they catch me? I went unnoticed for nine years… _

_I backed away before the man could fasten the cold cuffs around my wrists. "Sorry, sir," I blurted out. "I think you've made a mistake! I'm perfectly normal!"_

_The man looked at me, his eyes stark and emotionless. I shivered._

"_You're files were reviewed by the Department of Detection. You've been determined to have a serious case of U.E.D. "_

_So, they'd finally figured out. I didn't know what to say to convince them that they were wrong.__Where was Rin when I needed her? With her logical demeanor and persuading way of conversing she could convince people of anything._

_The officer reached for me again, and I let instincts take over. __I couldn't let them catch me._

_I tumbled underneath his legs, rolling and springing up behind him. The two other officers grabbed at me. I wasn't a very violent person, but I was running out of options. I punched one in the eye, my knuckles sinking into his soft flesh. The man groped for his eye instinctively and I used the distraction to break past him. _

_He recovered quickly (I guess I wasn't strong enough to be much more than a nuisance) and the three officers were chasing me down the apartment hallway, probably waking up all my sleeping neighbors with the ruckus._

"_Stop!" they yelled continuously behind me. _

_Yeah, right. Like I would just surrender because they told me to._

_The three men were barreling at a surprisingly slow speed behind me. I guess all that muscle they had slowed them down. But even so, I was still losing ground. Fast._

_I reached the steps and ran down, skipping three steps at a time. If I could only get outside before they caught me, I could find someplace to hide…_

_ I risked a glance behind over my shoulder to find that I was almost within reaching distance with one of the officers. Crap. I was still one flight of stairs away from the lobby. I picked up my pace, nearly tripping and tumbling down the staircase in the process. I felt one of their hands brush my shoulder. They were close._

_ Now I could see the vacant lobby floor advancing toward me. Only a little farther…_

_ "Got him!" Strong arms yanked me backwards, grasping my shoulders in an iron grip. The officer stopped, turning his head to look at the other officers behind him with a triumphant expression. Bad move. The officers that were barreling down the steps behind my captor didn't expect this sudden halt, and had gained too much momentum to stop in time. They crashed into us, sending us toppling down the stairway. _

_ The officer lost his grip on me, and I felt an immense amount of weight forced against my small frame. I was pushed forward, my feet slipping underneath me, and in a blur of color my body launched into the air. The four of us tumbled down, bashing against each step that lay beneath us. We hit the bottom and, miraculously, I landed on top of the pile of bodies. If I was sprawled beneath the three heavy men I would have been flattened like a pancake._

_ The scene might have been comical, if it hadn't hurt like hell._

_ I lay there in a daze, my mind still spinning from the fall, until I regained my senses. I jumped up off the groaning officers, ignoring the screaming pain that shot up my spine, and sprinted towards the main entrance of the apartment complex before the men had time to pick themselves up._

_ I burst through the doorway, into a world of darkness. The streets were vacant, which was a rare occurrence in this crowded neighborhood, even this late in the day. Shadows danced across the metal buildings, which reflected the azure star-specked sky, making it look as if the town was floating in the middle of the galaxy. Not that Yamaha didn't build cities like that._

_ I felt a fresh breeze brush against my skin, tossing around my ink-black hair carelessly. I resisted a crazy urge to laugh._

_ These were the people I've been hiding from all of my life. These were the people who threatened my existence; the people I've cowered in fear from. Yet I'd somehow managed to slip through their grasp once they'd finally discovered me._

_ It just seemed too easy. Sighing quietly, I ran down the street to put as much distance between me and the officers as I could. I ducked into the shadows, figuring it would hide me._

_ I needed to find Rin immediately. If the Yamaha Patrol discovered me, they undoubtedly knew about her too. We needed to find a place to hide, maybe some other crowded city of Yamaha were we would easily blend in and be undetected._

_I just hope they haven't caught her yet. A cloud of worry rose in my chest; if she was staying overtime at her job they could have easily nabbed her. I was starting to regret letting her work for the Patrol Force. Sure, it could divert people's attentions and give us an inside scoop of how the government disposed of people like us, but it was a huge risk as well._

_I just had to find her. I could never let them harm my Rin…_

_Blindly running through the darkness, I suddenly bumped into something warm. Wheeling back, I felt rough hands grip my arms, twisting my arms painfully behind my back. Cold steel chaffed my wrists as the sound of handcuffs clicking shut echoed through the empty street. _

_I struggled desperately, trying to escape, with no avail. The sudden bright beam of a flashlight blinded my eyes, causing a temporary searing pain. Once my retinas adjusted to the light, I was able to see my new captor. _

_A wave of relief washed over me as my eyes rested on a pair of familiar blue eyes. "Rin! There are three YPF officers chasing me- apparently they discovered my, uh, condition. Anyway, we have to get out of here! And what's with the handcuffs?"_

_ I could hear heavy footsteps in the distance. The officers finally recovered from their little trip up._

_ "Come on, Rin! We have to move!" I yanked on the cuff to drag her away, but to my surprise she stood her ground and stared at me blankly. _

_ The footsteps were loud now. The men were close. I was getting uneasy, "Rin. This isn't a joke. We have to go, now!"_

_ She didn't even budge. "Len, I have to turn you in."_

_ That left me utterly confused. "Huh?"_

_ She was rushing the words out of her mouth now, a pained expression on her face. "Look, I don't have a lot of time, and this is probably going to look bad to you, but listen. No matter what happens, I promise to get you out of this. I have a plan. Just trust me."_

_ Rin barely finished saying that to me when three officers were upon us, bombarding Rin with praise. I vaguely heard Rin speaking back to them, but I couldn't focus on anything they were saying, only the rough hands that were wrenching me to the officers' hovercraft, jerking and pushing me around like I was a rag doll. _

_I didn't resist, though my instinct was screaming at me to flee. But if Rin had a plan, I would follow her. She had a better understanding of what was happening anyway. She probably knew a lot that I didn't._

_I trusted Rin. She would come through for me._

_If only I knew then how wrong I was._


	4. Chapter 4

**Woah, I haven't updated this since 2012? O.O I'll have to fix that...**

* * *

***Rin Kagamine***

I paced the floor in agitated cycles. _Should I go in? No, they'll be mad. Len was furious. But I didn't know he'd get so upset… I hope he's all right…_ Letting out a frustrated sigh, I stopped before the bedroom door, still musing whether or not I should enter. Miku and Oliver were tending to Len on the other side, bandaging the bleeding gash on his leg.

I hoped it was the bleeding that caused Len to pass out. I'd feel terrible if it was my fault.

I raised my hand to grope at the partially-decayed doorknob, but recoiled at the last second. I let out an inward groan. _Come on Rin, you've jumped off of space jets, outwitted whole sects of patrol police, exploded legions of space stations, became Yamaha's number one fugitive- yet you can't even gain the guts to face your own brother. How pathetic._

I slumped my back into the flaking wallpaper beside the door, squeezing my eyes shut as if severing my vision would blind me to the memories flashing through my mind. _Len's bruised, collapsed form cowering under the harsh light of the interrogation room. The stench of hundreds of bodies pressed together in the single, overcrowded cell. The general's passive, unemotional expression as he informed me my brother would not return alive._

A cold shiver ran up my spine. The terrible deeds I've done…

I silently cursed myself. Of course Len wouldn't have been happy to see me. If our places were switched, I probably would have murdered me on sight.

Since that day, every time I closed my eyes Len's image burned in my mind. Every time sharp pangs of sadness welled in my chest, I wondered what Len was feeling. Every time loneliness pressed down on my shoulders, I wondered if Len missed me as much as I missed him.

I was an idiot for ever hoping that Len could forgive me.

Ever since my mistake, I began working to undo the damage I've done, to compensate for my sin. I tried, I really did- but I knew that I no matter what I did, it wasn't enough. I haven't done enough to deserve forgiveness. I'll never be able to do enough to deserve forgiveness.

I wasn't usually one to back away, but it was probably best if I left. Len didn't want me here. There was that other group of refugees that would help me, anyway…

I sighed, picked myself off of the wall, and turned to leave when the door creaked open and something bumped into me. The force took me by surprise and almost sent me reeling, but I regained my balance to find a flustered Oliver holding an armful of blood-sopping rags. "R-Rin! S-Sorry, I didn't know you were out here," he mumbled, slightly red-faced.

I couldn't help but crack a small smile at Oliver's apparent embarrassment. "It's alright." My smile faded when I realized whose blood marred the pristine white cloths. "Is Len okay?"

"Yeah, he's still out cold, but we just finished cleaning the wound, and Miku's busy bandaging his leg. If you want, you can go in and see him." Oliver rushed off, still red-tinted, before I had a chance to respond.

Reassured by the fact Len wasn't awake, I pushed my way into the bedroom. Miku was tying off a strip of gauze around Len's leg, sitting on the edge of the bed that Len was sprawled upon.

She glanced at me. "Hi Rin!" she greeted, as cheerful as ever.

"Hi," I replied. "Is Len okay? I'm sorry, I didn't know I would upset him so much, or I wouldn't have come here-"I rushed the words out, before Miku cut me off.

"It's alright, Rin. No matter what Len says, you're always welcome here." She turned back to Len, tucking him under the thin blanket and gazing at him with affection that I could only describe as motherly. "And don't think it was your fault he fainted. He was dehydrated. He should have known better than to go out in this heat without water," she chided, as if Len was listening.

I stared at the uneven floorboards. "I think I'll be leaving soon anyway…"

Miku jumped up. "Nonsense! I'll force you to stay with us if I have to!"

Oliver entered the room carrying a glass of water. He looked surprised when Miku snatched the glass out of his hands and shoved us out of the room, sending us stumbling over each other's feet. "Oliver, go show Rin around town, okay? Luka's going to her waitress shift right now, so she can drive you." The door slammed shut behind us with the sound of the lock clicking into place.

"Um… what was that all about?" Oliver asked, a perplexed expression crossing his face.

I shrugged. "No idea."

Oliver just blinked away his confusion and stepped toward the kitchen, motioning for me to follow him. "C'mon, let's go tell Luka."

~.~.~.~

"Oww," I muttered as my body lurched against the rusty convertible siding.

"Sorry!" Luka yelled from the driver's seat, trying to speak over the rushing wind. "This road is a little rough. You'll get used to it."

I lurched again and looked over at Oliver in the front passenger's seat. He didn't even move. I hoped I grew as immune to it as Oliver and Luka, but it didn't seem likely. The car hit another pothole and my head slammed back into seat. Ouch.

I have a newfound hate for earthling vehicles.

I settled into the car seat and tried to remain still. Luka said it was a long drive to town, about thirty or forty minutes. I looked at the passing desert scenery absentmindedly, and my thoughts wondered elsewhere…

~.~.~.~

_I stepped into the cluttered office, strewn with lose papers and thousands monitors hanging crooked off the wall. A single man sat behind the darkened room's only desk, staring intently at a Manila folder open before him._

_I bowed. "General Akita, I was told you called for me."_

_The man looked up from his paperwork, his eyes lighting up slightly when he discovered one of his favorite officers had arrived. "Rin Kagamine, nice to see you." He held out his hand for me to shake, and motioned for me to take a seat in the chair across from his desk._

_"We searched through your entire family's files, a protocol required for any officer applying for Captain-in-Command. We had some very... unusual findings."_

_A lump formed in my throat. They couldn't have discovered us, right? No. I was confident Len's and my files would pass through the Department of Detection just fine. I _had _to get this job; it was worth the risk. _

_At least, that's what I told myself._

_The General closed the manila folder and pushed it in my direction. For the first time I noticed how thick it was; it was about twice the length of my thumb to forefinger. "Go on, take a look," the general instructed, motioning toward the file. I gingerly lifted it._

_My breath stopped short as I read the name scrawled in poor penmanship in the corner._ No. This can't be what I think it is...

_I felt myself falter, than quickly forced on an emotionless expression, praying that the General didn't notice my initial shock. _You're just jumping to conclusions, Rin. What the general is going to say probably isn't what you think...

_The General leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. "So, tell me Rin," the General began, a stern tone evident in his voice. "How well do you know your brother?"_

_My heart dropped._

_~.~.~.~_

"Earth to Rin."

I jumped as a hand slashed through my field of vision, interrupting my thoughts. "Huh?"

"We're here!" Luka exclaimed brightly, pulling her hand away from my face. She ushered me out of the car, locking the door behind me and pocketed the keys. We were standing in the parking lot of an old fashioned diner. "You two run off and enjoy yourselves! My shift will end in two hours. If you need anything just come find me, okay?" We nodded and she pushed through the diner's entrance, leaving Oliver and me alone.

"Ummmm... so... what do we do now?" I asked, turning toward Oliver.

His stare was fixated on his shoes. "Uh... sh-show you around, I guess..."

I snapped my hand up in a mock salute. "Where to, Mr. Tour Guide?"

Oliver flashed a sheepish grin. "We'll just walk around for a bit. This is a pretty small town."

We walked on the sidewalk, baking in the Nevada heat, passing by houses and small shops. Oliver was pointing things out, telling me things about earth that were different from Yamaha, facts I was already aware of. Pretty soon he began bringing up less topics.

We'd been walking in a few minutes of awkward silence when Oliver finally spoke up again. "Hey, Rin... why do you know so much about Earth already?" He gave me a curious glance. "I mean, when I first came here, it was such a strange place compared to the world back home. You seem unfazed, and it seems like you already know how everything works here."

I hesitated for a second. How was I supposed to explain without revealing the truth? "Er, before coming here... I did a lot of research about this planet." Keep it vague. Vague is good.

My response clearly puzzled Oliver, but as expected, Oliver wasn't the type to question things out loud. He just nodded and went along with it. After a few more minutes of unbearable silence, he asked me another question. "So... you came here looking for Len?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what sort of disability sent him here?" Oliver inquired, forcing the question to sound casual, though I could detect an underlying layer of eager curiosity. It made me hesitate a bit.

"You mean... he hasn't told you?" I asked back. Oliver shook his head. "Sorry, but I think he should be the one to tell you." I could sense his disappointment and couldn't help but giggle. "So, is there anything interesting I should know about everyone back at the house? You know, any juicy gossip?"

Oliver scratched his head and looked away. "I'm not really the best person to be asking about that, I think Piko's the rumor master."

"So, is Len kind of the ruler of the household? I kind of got that impression."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. He and Miku have been on Earth the longest- they usually make all the big decisions." Interesting. A monarchy just waiting to fall. That could be a decent advantage to winning everyone over, if it came down to that...

No Rin. No. He's your brother, not some stupid agency. Don't think like that.

We kept walking, when I noticed a shop we just passed. Strings of colorful lights hung in rows across the store, bright striped umbrellas topped rows of outside tables, and unlike most of the buildings around here, it looked relatively new.

Oliver noticed me staring. "Oh, that's Kaito's favorite ice cream shop. Would you like to try some? I brought some money with me."

Ice cream? I didn't know what that was, but it sounded yummy. "Sounds good."

Oliver guided me to a table. "Here, I'll go buy the ice cream, and you can wait here. What flavor do you want? They have vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cookie dough, orange sherbet-"

"I'll take the orange flavor." Why not? I like the color, and none of the other flavors sound recognizable.

"Okay, I'll be right back," Oliver said, fishing dollar bills out of his pocket. He entered the shop, leaving me alone. I strained me eyes to watch through the window, but for some reason the sun reflected off it, creating a black sheen that only mirrored my image back.

Funny... it almost reminded me of that room...

~.~.~.~

_I peered through the synthetic glass, silently observing the interrogation through a one-way window. I forced my labored breathing under control as I closed my eyes in silent prayer. _Len, Don't let them get to you.

_The room was constructed completely out of black, glossy metal, smooth and polished so that you could see faint reflections bouncing off of each wall. In the center of the room stood two milky-white chairs, one seating the interrogator, and the opposite, Len. His wrists were secured to the chair with thick metal braces, and a thin, silver band rested on his raven-black hair, pulsing violet light._

_The strange headband was one of the YPF's newest inventions; they called it a Miragemech because of its ability to alter the wearer's brainwaves and launch simulations in their mind. It was most commonly used in cases like these; they just needed Len to show a physical reaction. That would be all the proof they needed._

_I glanced back at the glowing clock, checking the time. He'd already been in this room for over five hours- much longer than I've ever seen a captured case of U.E.D. last. The most I'd ever seen was thirty minutes. I wasn't very surprised; ever since I began working for the YPF we've been preparing for this day._

_Except I expected to be in the room beside Len, not standing on the sidelines, watching._

_The interrogator was questioning Len, trying to trip him into saying something discriminating. Beads of sweat were dripping down the interrogator's face; he wasn't used to this kind of resistance. Usually people gave themselves away without a second thought. Len just remained silent and unresponsive, keeping his face locked in a passive, empty expression._

_In between questions I would see the Miragemech's light flash faster and faster, until it was a steady glow of unbroken light. I knew that it was when they were forcing Len through some hallucinations, trying to break him._

_I bit my lip and cast another anxious glance at the clock. If the interrogation exceeded the interrogation wing's closing time, Len would be secured in one of the temporary holding cells and the interrogation would resume tomorrow. I had the keys to those cells. _Just hold on for another hour, Len. Just an hour.

_I pressed my forehead against the glass and squeezed my eyes shut, only to immediately regain composure as I heard my room's door click open. I turned and immediately snapped my arm up in a salute when I noticed who had entered. "Yes, General? Do you want something?"_

_He ignored me question. "How's the interrogation going?"_

"_He still hasn't shown any signs."_

_The General turned to look through the window, his eyes narrowing into tiny slits. "You know, it's been a while. It almost makes me think he doesn't have U.E.D."_

_I felt a sliver of hope. Maybe they would release Len!_

"_...But we know the Yamaha Patrol Force is never wrong." The general finished his sentence, grinning. Those words stabbed at my chest. "Good job capturing him." He turned to leave, then paused in the doorway. "Oh, and congratulations Rin, you've been voted into the position by the board. You're now second-in-command, just beneath me. I look forward to working with you." _

_The door shut behind him, and I was left to gape over what he just said. I made it? I actually made it! I've always dreamed of having such a powerful position!_

_My ecstasy dissolved as I turned back to look at Len. _

_I was glad I got the position._

_But I didn't want it to happen like this._

_~.~.~.~_

I was jolted out of my trance when Oliver left the shop, two ice cream cones in hand. For some reason he was keeping his head lowered so that his bangs were covering his face. Two muscular teenagers emerged from the shop shortly after, one sporting a white tank top completely soaked with sweat, and the other wearing a black t-shirt that revealed arms drowned with tattoos.

"Hey, Pipsqueak!" Tanktop called, sneering. "Me and my friend are hungry. You mind?" The boy didn't wait for a response. He swiped the ice cream out of Oliver's hands and pushed him to the ground.

I felt my insides boil. Who did these people think they were?

The boys laughed, letting out obnoxious guffaws. "He's pathetic!" Tattoos exclaimed in his unintelligent nasally voice between gasps for air.

I stood up and marched over, enraged. "Hey! Pick on someone your own size!"

They stopped laughing and stared at me for a second. Then they resumed their chortles. "And, what exactly are you going to do about it, little miss?" Tattoos sneered.

"Awwww, Pathetic Boy over here needs his girlfriend to stand up for him!" Tanktop snickered.

I clenched my fists and stepped forward. Oliver, who had picked himself up, reached out and clutched my sleeve, speaking in a hushed tone. "Rin, just leave it alone. It's only some stupid dessert."

I ignored him and shook off his hand. I marched closer to the boys, jabbing my finger in their faces. "If you two _pea brains_ actually got a life and stopped tormenting kids for freaking _ice cream_, you'd have enough cash to buy it yourself!"

That just made them laugh harder. "Look, I think she's threatening us!"

"I'm soooooo scared!"

I shot my arms out and wrenched the cones out of their grasp without even a blink. "Thanks." I turned back toward Oliver, who was staring at me with wide eyes.

I sensed the punch before I saw it. Ducked to the left and turned to face my attackers, easily sliding to avoid the second blow. The boys were red-faced and steaming. "I've had enough of you, ya little punk," Tattoos said, the two lunging again. I slid between the idiots and stopped to stand right behind them.

Dang, humans are slow.

They turned, grunting in anger, and I smiled. It's been a while since I had such an outmatched battle. "Come get me, I dare you." I used a chair for leverage and jumped onto one of the tables, still holding the two ice cream cones. They growled and reached for me, but I leapt onto an adjacent table.

For the next few minutes I hopped around, stifling giggles as they tumbled over chairs trying to reach me only to find me halfway across the shop. I stopped to wink at Oliver, whose eyes proceeded to bug out more. I turned to look back at the idiots, only to find them right under me.

Tanktop latched onto my ankle. "I got her!" He shrieked, the sound causing me to wince. I brought down my other foot and stomped on his knuckles. That time he shrieked for a different reason.

I was getting annoyed now. I sent a carefully placed kick to Tanktop's stomach, sending him stumbling backwards into Tattoo. They crashed into the table opposite where I was standing.

I stepped down from my table and examined my ice cream. Not even a spill.

I turned back toward the wreckage; Tanktop and Tattoo were eerily quiet. I think I was beginning to miss the sound of their cusses. I walked toward them, just to make sure I didn't kill them.

"Look out!"

I barely had time to register Oliver's warning when I felt a sharp pain on the back of my skull, and my vision went black.

~.~.~.~

_Huh? What happened?_

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking away my blurry vision. Oliver was kneeling over me, concern lining his facial features. He noticed me wake up. "Rin? Are you okay?"

"Huuuuunnnggghh?"

I heard a barely audible sigh of relief. Arms wrap around my shoulders, hoisting me to a sitting position. "What happened?" I asked. My head hurt like crazy.

"When you sent those guys flying into the table, the impact shook the umbrella lose. You, um, got knocked out when the pole hit you."

I looked around the ice cream shop. I noticed the smashed table, reduced to a pile of rubble, and a very angry gray-haired man yelling at the two guys from earlier. "Whosthat?" I asked, accidentally slurring my words together.

"The owner. I went and got him after you got knocked out. I, uh, told him you did the damage, but he didn't believe me." Oliver grinned sheepishly.

I faked a devious smile. "What? Am I too innocent looking?"

"Yeah. Uh, hey, can you walk?" Oliver asked, looking a little nervous. "Luka's shift should be over soon, and if we aren't on time…" He trailed off, a scared look plastered on his face.

"What, don't tell me Luka's more violent than she seems?" She seemed so motherly and kind. These people were starting to scare me with their alter egos.

"No, she'd just leave without us. We'd have to walk home… in the dark…"

I didn't notice the setting sun until Oliver said that. "Ohhhh, little Ollie is afraid of the dark~"

"N-NO! It's just not pleasant, that's all…"

I giggled, then pushed myself to my feet. "Well, let's get going." I offered Oliver my hand and pulled him up.

The walk back was pretty quiet. I couldn't think of anything to say, and Oliver wasn't much of a conversation starter.

"It was just like Len!" Oliver suddenly blurted.

"Huh?"

He looked away, embarrassed. "N-Nothing. It's just that what you did back at the ice cream parlor was what Len would have done. I mean, he probably wouldn't have skipped around on countertops like that. He would have stood up to those people, like you did."

I looked down, suddenly engrossed in the sidewalk. Something about that comment hurt. I just wasn't sure why.

_Rin is like Len._

_Len is like Rin._

* * *

**...Kaito approves this chapter. xD**

**Anyway, I wasn't originally going to knock Rin out... but then I thought I could fit in another flashback there... and then I got lazy, so no flashback. The Kagamines are cursed, they keep passing out. :P I'm so mean to them.**

**Thanks to any readers that have had to put up with my extremely long update patterns. I must be aggravating you by now, haha. **


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